PORT EDWARDS – Programming robots is not the traditional way for students to learn arithmetic, but that's exactly how a Port Edwards class is learning new math concepts.

Port Edwards Elementary School fifth-graders recently took a break from their normal routine and learned math by experimenting with Spheros, which are robotic balls controlled by an application and Bluetooth technology.

The Spheros' movements are directed by the students.

"I think of it as a hamster in a wheel, running," fifth-grader Kailer Lyp told Daily Tribune Media.

The objective of the lesson was to learn more about the relationship between time, speed and distance. Students programmed the balls to roll at a certain speed for a certain amount of time, and then measured how far the ball rolled under the parameters.

During the school year, students have learned computer coding and programming skills through their use of the Khan Academy, an educational organization that provides free learning resources on its website.

"It can be difficult," said fifth-grade teacher Tim Martin, who organized the lesson. "Because some of these kids are more tech-savvy than me, so they can find what they're doing wrong quicker than I can — and I'm OK with that. I understand the generation gap; I didn't grow up with this. This (technology) is their real world. So let them use the technology to solve real-world problems."

Math comprehension was not the only objective of the lesson. Students were required to work together in random groups to program the Spheros and do math problems related to their experiment.

"It's like we're our own scientist team," Kailer said.

Learning how to collaborate efficiently in a group is beneficial for these students, in the long run, Martin said.

"Some groups are working well together and some (are not) and that's part of real life, too," Martin said.

"You're going to get a job where you work well with your partner and team, and sometimes, you're not," he said. "How do you overcome that?"